Just contact the California Citizens Commission on Redistricting Directly

For the first time in the history of California, politicians of either major party will NOT be having influence on how the boundary lines are being drawn for the districts of elected office. And that is they way it should be. District boundaries should not be drawn in a way to favor one political party over another.

That's why it is important that non-elected residents of Long Beach directly contact the California Citizens Redistricting Commission about how they would like the boundaries drawn. The Commission is mandated to:

• Draw districts with equal population.
• Comply with the federal Voting Rights Act to ensure minority voters have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
• Draw districts that are contiguous.
• Respect counties, cities, communities of interest and neighborhoods, where possible.
• Draw districts to be compact, where predictable.
• Draw districts to nest within each other, where practicable. The goal is for one State Senate district to contain two State Assembly districts, and one Board of Equalization District to contain 10 State Senate Districts.

The Commission which is meeting in Long Beach on April 27th in City Hall at 6pm is asking for the following direct input from residents concerning how the boundaries should look. A handbook on redistricting, suggests that the Commission should hear from residents about: "Important places, such as parks, cultural centers, religious or government buildings, a commercial area, schools or clubs; Census or demographic data about the residents of our community; Issues that bring residents together such as where to locate a new road or transit line, or traditions such as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march; Important stakeholders who represent different parts of the community; Boundaries of our community."
 
You don't need to go through anyone, elected or otherwise, to let the Commission know your opinion on how boundaries must be drawn to provide equal representation. In fact, if the Commission believes that the input is politically directed, it may ignore the information to avoid the appearance that once again, lines were drawn to suit politicians and not the voters.

You can attend the public hearing or go online at http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/ to read more about the process.

You can then contact the Commission directly at http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/contact.html
or send an email directly to votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov

Get involved. This is a once in a 10 year chance to decide how political boundaries should be drawn -- and they should be drawn by you, not elected officials.